Konoha High, Meet The Tanaka Girls
by ohdearheart
Summary: Two teenage sisters arrive at Konoha High with the intention of making a splash in the boring old town. Turning heads and breaking hearts, follow the twists and turns of Kotomi and Shiko as they make their way through High School. AU, citrus, OCs.
1. Prologue

_NARUTO—ナルト—_ _and it's characters - Masashi Kishimoto  
>Kotomi Tanaka, Shiko Tanaka and ''Konoha High, Meet the Tanaka Girls'' plot - ohdearheart<em>

**Konoha High ; Meet The Tanaka Girls  
><strong>_~ A Naruto AU Fanfiction ~**  
>Written and Devised by ohdearheart.<br>** _

_.Prologue - Have You Seen Them?.  
><em>

I felt a thump on my back and turned around to discover that Kiba had ran up to me.  
>"Have you seen them?" he said, out of breath but excited."Seen what?" I replied, confused.<br>"Seen who, you mean. The new girls, oh man they are-"  
>"Shut up, Kiba," interrupted Ino.<p>

Not going to lie, Ino looked fine at the moment. She was that typical blonde bombshell, complete with the cheerleader outfit, long, perfect legs and pretty blue eyes. She just had a habit of being the most troublesome girl that I knew. And annoying. She was most definitely annoying too.

"No-one wants to hear your voice," she finished her rant at Kiba, who blinked like a rabbit in headlights.  
>"Back to the main story," he turned to me and left Ino ignored. "These new girls. Have you seen them?"<br>"Don't you think that I would have said something if I had?" I said.  
>"Well, look over there."<br>"H-H-Hey Kiba-kun, we have new students," said Hinata quietly.  
>"I know... check them out Shika," he indicated in the direction of the school gates. Walking through the gates were two girls that I didn't recognise.<p>

One was wearing black skinny jeans, a red top with a butterfly on it, a sweatband and a pair of cute shoes. She was tall compared to the rest of the girls, her black hair tied back in a messy ponytail with a long side fringe similar to Ino's but more jagged. She had big brown eyes, and looked friendly-ish, but just a touch more threatening than her friend.

The other, a black ruffled skirt with white polka dots, a navy blue and white striped vest top and a matching thin dark blue cardigan that dwarfed her, hanging down to her knees. She was tiny, so short, but cute with it, not even curvy in the slightest, with black tights and black boots that looked kind of like work boots. They suited her. She only wore a little strand of red beads on her wrist.

"Excuse me? Is something on my face?" asked the taller girl. That's when I realised I had been staring at them and weighing them up for quite a while. "Because you've been staring at me and my sister ever since we walked in the gates," she put one hand on her hip and looked at me with one eyebrow raised.

Sisters; that made sense. There was something about them that looked like they belonged together, and they looked ever so slightly alike, the shape of their eyes and almost the colour of their hair, even if the short one had slightly lighter eyes and darker hair. Yup, now that I looked at them in detail, they were definitely sisters.

"Huh?" the girl said.  
>"Oh sorry," I snapped myself out of my little daydream. "We just don't get many new students here, and you seem to have everyone's attention at the moment. Uh, sorry."<br>"Oh... okay," she said, eyeing me up from top to bottom as if she was sizing up whether she could knock me over or not. "I'm Shiko Tanaka."

"Nice to meet you," I said, gulping.  
>"Easy. I'm not that scary, honestly," she flashed me a friendly smile, and went to go and introduce herself to Hinata.<br>"Welcome, Sh-Shiko-san," Hinata grinned. Hinata had a tendency to love people that could stick up for themselves. Shiko obviously had won many points in Hinata's point of view.

"Hi. I'm Kotomi," I heard someone's voice. I looked around and then finally looked down to someone who was at least five inches shorter than me, looking back up with an unamused impression on her face. "Ah, forget it, y'know. I'm not that short. You seem like an asshole."


	2. Art is an Explosion

_NARUTO—ナルト—_ _and it's characters - Masashi Kishimoto  
>Kotomi Tanaka, Shiko Tanaka and ''Konoha High, Meet the Tanaka Girls'' plot - ohdearheart<em>

**Konoha High ; Meet The Tanaka Girls  
><strong>_~ A Naruto AU Fanfiction ~**  
>Written and Devised by ohdearheart.<br>** _

_.Chapter 1 - Art is an Exp__losion._

We walked into the headmistress' office. She sat talking on the phone, her chest resting on the desk and wearing surprisingly skimpy clothes for such a professional.  
>"I don't care if some of them have to be smushed up in the luggage compartment, WE CAN'T AFFORD ANOTHER BUS!" she screamed down the phone line. "Aha, uh, Ryuu, I'll call you back..."<p>

She put the phone back in the holder and turned around to face us, pushing a small keyboard out of the way and shuffling some papers on her desk.  
>"You two must be the Tanaka sisters," she looked at us.<br>"That's us," I said.

"Well seeing as you're new, Kotomi's class is rather under-subscribed and Shiko is exceptionally bright, I have the pleasure of informing you that you two will be together in classes until the decision is revoked. Also you're both going to have to pick electives from the list below. From past experience I advise that after having most classes together you will be pulling each other's hair out so you may want to pick a different elective."

_Compulsory Classes_

**Japanese** - Kakashi  
><strong>English<strong> - Kurenai  
><strong>Mathematics<strong> – Iruka  
><strong>Chemistry<strong> - Asuma  
><strong>Biology<strong> - Jiraiya  
><strong>Art<strong> - Shizune  
><strong>Japanese History<strong> – Hiruzen Saratobi  
><strong>Physical Education<strong> – Maito Gai

_Electives_

**Calligraphy**  
><strong>Flower Arranging<strong>  
><strong>Track Running<strong>  
><strong>Karate<strong>  
><strong>Geography<strong>  
><strong>Computer Class<strong>

"I think I'll go for Karate," said Shiko. "Hells yeah! Who's ass do I get to kick first?" she went into a martial arts pose.  
>"I'll run track," I said to the headteacher.<br>"Aren't you a little... little to run track?"  
>"I can run," I said, unamused.<p>

"So that's your electives, and here are your timetables," Tsunade handed us two timetables. "Your classroom is on the fourth floor, and it's the furthest one down the corridor. Stairs are over there. If you need any help just ask Shikamaru or something. He's probably the only one in that class with two brain cells to rub together," she sighed. We grabbed our timetables and planners and walked out of the classroom, putting them in our bags.

"Isn't Shikamaru..."  
>"Yeah, Hinata told me that he's the asshole..."<br>"Who's Hinata?"  
>"Ah, she's this girl..."<br>"Specific."

"Oh Kotomi, you know I love you so much..."  
>"I'm not giving you a piggyback."<br>"And you're the best big sister EVER!"  
>"I'm not giving you a piggyback."<br>"But look at those stairs..." Shiko pouted.

"No."  
>"I'll clean the kitchen."<br>"Including the oven?"  
>"Yes."<br>"Hop on," I said reluctantly.

"So, class, we are back for the new year. I will be taking you for Art, and my name is Shizune as most of you probably know. If you know that, you will also know that I work for Tsunade and am therefore unable to teach art full time. It's hard for me to prepare lessons and work for- MY GOD!"  
>"Y'know, Shizune-sensei, the whole Tsunade-sama is God thing is getting old now."<p>

"Wh-wh-who are you?" Shizune turned to the doorway, which had been flung open by a girl with another on her back.  
>"We are Shiko and Kotomi Tanaka!" the one on the top grinned, and leapfrogged her sister's head confidently. The smaller one stood wide-eyed.<p>

"I'm Kotomi," she said. "This is Art."  
>"Well done," Shizune said, unamused. "New students."<br>"Well done," Shiko imitated. "Why is there a tranny pig on the desk?"  
>"Shiko," I mumbled underneath my breath. "This is our first day. Pleeeease be good. Please."<p>

"This is Tonton," Shizune said indignantly. "She is Tsunade-sama's pet. Please sit down."  
>"This school is full o' whackjobs," Shiko sighed.<br>"Damn right," I muttered.

"Right, let's get some order in the classroom, please, children."  
>"We're not kids," said a low voice from the back of the classroom. A guy around my age with a blonde ponytail and a long flippy fringe covering one eye folded his arms and raised one eyebrow. Similar to Shiko. He wore a black vest top and a baggy pair of black trousers with chains hanging from them.<p>

"Yes, Deidara. Whatever you say," Shizune sighed. "Shiko, go sit at the back," she indicated to this guy, and Shiko went to sit down with an evil flirtatious grin on her face.  
>"And Kotomi, go sit on the left with Shikamaru," she indicated towards the tall one with the pineapple head. I shuffled over and dumped my bag on the floor, getting out my sketchbook and pencils.<p>

"Just my frickin' luck," I whispered across the classroom to Shiko. She giggled, and then went back to talking to that Deidara boy.  
>"That's a bit mean," smirked Shikamaru. "You've only just met me. I meant no harm."<br>"Yup..." I said, partially ignoring him.  
>"Hey, be like that then," he smirked again.<p>

"Today class, I want you to go out in your partners and sketch as many fresh flowers and plants as you can as inspiration for your final project. You can be art buddies!"  
>"Art buddies," Shiko and Deidara chorused flatly.<br>"Art buddies!" Shikamaru said in fake happiness, and turned around to show me jazz hands and a stupid grin.  
>"You're my art buddy, Hinata-chan!" said a cute boy in the corner wearing jeans and a bright orange T-shirt.<p>

"A-A-Art buddies?" the girl who must be Hinata said, her eyes wider than mine when I saw this classroom, wider than anyone's I'd ever seen. She blushed and clutched onto the desk.  
>"Are you okay, Hinata?" the guy asked. She let out a high-pitched squeal and fell to the ground. Shizune let out another sigh and got worked up out of her mind.<p>

"H-H-Hinata-chan! Are you okay? What's wrong? Why? Has she fainted, Naruto? Why is she on the ground? Oh God! Someone call Tsunade-sama! Someone call her! Or an ambulance! Or my mother!"  
>"Shizune-sensei has a mother?" the walking orange T-shirt named Naruto wondered out loud.<br>"Everyone has a mother, idiot!" yelled a pink-haired girl when putting her phone away.  
>"Shizune-sensei's mother is deceased," said Tsunade, appearing at the door and flipping a hysterical Shizune into a fireman's hold. "Go do your work."<p>

"I'll be Kotomi's partner," Shiko stood up with a sketchbook and a fistful of pencils purposefully.  
>"Ha! Don't think you can bend the rules here just because you don't know them yet! Partners are always the person you are sat next to, whichever class you are in. Now Kotomi you will stay with Shikamaru for the duration of the lesson, and don't take any notice of your sister!" Tsunade said, before stomping down the corridor with Shizune-sensei over one shoulder and Hinata over the other.<p>

"Just my luck. Again," I sighed to myself.  
>"Just your luck indeed, Tomi-chan," Shiko grinned before waltzing out the door and flicking her newly-tied bunches back as she turned to face me. "See you later," she giggled, and linked arms with her partner, walking out.<p>

"You really are a troublesome girl."  
>"You don't know me."<br>"I can sense it. You seem arrogant."  
>"Then you do not know me at all. Let's go," I said, and grabbed my book.<p>

Down in the park of the school where the flowers grew, we sat ourselves around a pink rose and I began to draw.  
>"Maybe you should add a little bit of shading."<br>"I'm not the artist, really."  
>"Was only a suggestion. What a drag this is..."<p>

"If you like art, maybe you should go see my sister?"  
>"I'm fine here."<br>"I thought you-"  
>"It was just a suggestion. Your sister is too... eh, she's too loud."<br>"She's lovely."  
>"So are you."<br>"Lovely or loud?"  
>"Loud."<br>"Well that was a disappointment."  
>"You jump to conclusions."<br>"How so?"  
>"Eh, you just do."<br>"You make a lot of assumptions for someone who wants to be logical."  
>"Logic is the basis of assumption."<br>"Assumption is made up of logic, you mean."  
>"They mean the same."<br>"So they do."

"Can you draw?"  
>"Not particularly. That's more my sister's thing."<br>"Is everything your sister's thing?"  
>"What do you mean?"<br>"You seem to have a blander personality than your sister."  
>"You have known me for under an hour. What do you base this on?"<br>"Your sister is the intelligent one, the loud and talkative one, the artistic one and the boisterous one, and you are..."  
>"I'm the small and skinny one, the fast one, the musical one, the work-hard one."<br>"You're calling your sister fat?"  
>"Much the opposite."<br>"What do you mean now?"  
>"I mean that I am scrawny. I have no shape. She's perfect."<br>"She's pretty hot."  
>"Cheers," I rolled my eyes.<br>"I didn't say you weren't," he laughed. "And you're fast? Musical?"

"I run track. Play piano and guitar..."

"You're my opposite."  
>"How?"<br>"I'm like your sister. More intelligent. I can draw kinda, but I can't play instruments. I know how to read books and make a chemical reaction, I just can't be bothered to use it. And I'd rather sleep than do other things."  
>"That's where you are apart. My sister is so constantly energetic. She doesn't lie in, in fact she wakes me up in the morning, she's always bouncing all over the place and she never shuts up. She always wants to go places, do things – she's out training in the garden whilst I'm watching clouds..."<br>"Watching clouds..."  
>"Yes, why?"<br>"Nothing. Carry on."

"She's effortless. I've never seen her take a break."  
>"So why were you not at elementary school?"<br>"It's difficult to explain, maybe another time."  
>"Maybe another time you can explain more about yourself."<br>"Maybe."


	3. Nice to Meet You, My Name Is Kotomi

_NARUTO—ナルト—_ _and it's characters - Masashi Kishimoto  
>Kotomi Tanaka, Shiko Tanaka and ''Konoha High, Meet the Tanaka Girls'' plot - ohdearheart<em>

**Konoha High ; Meet The Tanaka Girls  
><strong>_~ A Naruto AU Fanfiction ~**  
>Written and Devised by ohdearheart.<strong>_

_.Chapter 2 - Nice to Meet You, My Name is Kotomi.  
><em>

* * *

><p>"We have Mathematics now," Shikamaru shrugged, looking bored.<br>"What room is that in?"  
>"Have you never been to school before? Japanese school? Nothing?"<br>"Yes..."  
>"We stay in the same room."<br>"We change seats, right?"  
>"Occasionally we get a teacher that lets us sit where we like. Asuma doesn't usually care where we go. He's cool like that. But most teachers keep us in that same plan, so yes, just like you're thinking, you are stuck with me for the rest of the day."<br>"Woooo."  
>"Excuse me."<br>"We can all do fake happiness."

"We better get back to the classroom..."

In the classroom, I sat down in the seat I was assigned and Shiko came back in gazing into Deidara's eyes, and clutching his arm adoringly.  
>"Great, she's got admirers already."<br>"You never know, you might have admirers too."  
>"I highly doubt it."<br>"Right, two new students," said a sensei that had just entered the room. He had a spiky ponytail similar to Shikamaru's and a scar running across his nose and cheeks.

"He looks scary."  
>"It's a school. How scary can he be?"<p>

"Introduce yourselves," said the sensei.  
>"I'm Kotomi Tanaka."<br>"And I'm Shiko."  
>"Shiko?"<br>"Shiko Tanaka."

"Hmm, you don't look like twins."  
>"No sh-"<br>"What Shiko means," I growled, "is that we aren't. She's a year younger."  
>"I don't think she's in the right class. You're not in the right class," he said to my sister as if she was a small child.<br>"Don't patronize me. I'm meant to be here."  
>"She's smart," I said, by way of explanation.<p>

"Sit down, both of you."  
>"This is going to be fun."<p>

_Right, Kotomi, you've made an awful start. From now on you are going to be sensible and kind, and all you've been doing is hating since you've got here. You're going to be mature and caring, and people are going to like you. And Shiko, too. So get your head around this because you can't change to another school and you are stuck with these people for the rest of your high school life._

_Acknowledged that that is only a couple of years, but this is your time to actually be popular in school. Remember everyone's names. Shikamaru – self-explanatory. Tsunade and Shizune – kinda scary but I guess that they have good intentions. Iruka – nose scar guy. Hinata – the one who seems to faint at a drop of a hat. I need to ask about that. Naruto – the one who was with Hinata in art. Make a point to make some new friends, Kotomi._

_ DON'T SCREW THIS UP!_

"Kotomi? Kotomi?" I heard Shiko's voice. "Sorry she gets a little distracted sometimes."  
>"Eh, it's your first day, I'll let you off. Kotomi-san, what is the answer to the equation?"<br>"Wh-wh-what equation?" I mumbled.  
>"Smooth," Shikamaru laughed under his breath.<p>

"Page 98 in the book. Equation B. What is the answer?"  
>"What book?"<br>"You don't have books?"  
>"I wasn't aware we needed them," I said. Iruka sighed.<p>

"You two seem to cause a lot of hassle. Get down to Tsunade. She'll give you a list. You can purchase most things from the school shop. Be back in twenty minutes."  
>"I don't really have a lot of money."<br>"Don't worry, they don't cost much."  
>"Shall I go too, Iruka-sensei?" Shiko asked.<p>

"No, don't worry, you'll need different books. You can get them after school. For now, just use Deidara's book."  
>"I can handle that."<p>

Walking down the long, airy corridors, finding it hard to remember to put one foot in front of the other and contemplating what an awful first day at school it had been, I heard a soft voice coming from the door to my left.

"Kotomi-san?"  
>"Hinata?"<br>"Where are you going?"  
>"I have to go see Tsunade and buy books. Are you feeling okay?"<br>"I guess so."  
>"If you don't mind me asking, why did you faint?"<br>"It's a long story I guess. I'll tell you later. Do you mind if I come with you? I don't feel like going back to the classroom just yet."  
>"Feel free."<p>

"So how has your first day here been?"  
>"Complicated, exhausting, stressful and kind of lonely. And it's only second period," I said. Hinata let out a gentle laugh.<br>"Don't worry. It'll get easier. You should come meet everyone at break."  
>"Everyone?"<br>"The class here."  
>"They seem to not like me and my sister."<br>"Ah no, we just don't get a lot of new students here. Just remember, that every step you take, they're just judging you."  
>"That's great," I groaned.<p>

"No I mean- I meant, I was going to say..."  
>"It's fine," I laughed. "I get what you mean."<br>"So why don't you have books?"  
>"I didn't know we needed them."<br>"What do you have?"  
>"Uh, a sketchbook, a pencil case, and two notebooks. That's pretty much it. Oh and a folder but I only bought that because it was in the sale and it was really cute and it had pandas and polka dots and-"<br>"So a folder."  
>"Yes."<p>

"You're going to need an English book, Japanese and Japanese history book, a math book and a science book."  
>"Great," I sighed. "I have... 2000 yen on me."<br>"You might need a bit more than that. They're usually about 4000 yen all together..."  
>"What? And then my sister's books... And then rent and then... uh."<p>

"Well why don't you ask your parents for some money tonight?"  
>"Uh yeah, but don't I need them now?"<br>"You can loan the books for a day if you ask reaaally nicely. And then you can buy it all tomorrow."  
>"Hinata! What brings you to my humble little shop?" the woman with purple hair grinned from behind the counter.<br>"New student. We were wondering if she could borrow some books for today and then pay for them tomorrow?"  
>"Well, I'll ask Tsunade to loosen the strings I get to pull around here but if I write it down in an IOU then it should be fine."<br>"Thanks," I smiled.

"SO what's your name, new one?"  
>"Tanaka Kotomi. Nice to meet you."<br>"I'm Mitarashi-sensei to you. But you can call me Anko," the woman winked and turned around producing a stack of books from a shelf behind her that looked like it was on the brink of collapsing.

"Thank you for this," I smiled again.  
>"No problems. Come back any time," she turned around to face her computer and started editing a large spreadsheet.<p>

I took a price sheet from the top of the desk.  
>"Okay, let's go."<p>

When we walked back into the classroom, Iruka looked us up and down.  
>"You took a while."<br>"Sorry, sensei. I have books for my sister too!"

"But I said…"  
>"Go long!" Shiko yelled, and edged herself back, landing into Deidara's lap. Hinata placed her books gently on her desk. "Way to be boring."<p>

"Okay now, we do the equation I asked you before, Kotomi-san. Equation B, Page 98. What is the answer?" Iruka asked, his eyes boring into I flicked through hurriedly and heard Shiko's giggle from the back of the room.

_The formula connecting ºC and ºF is: C = 5(F-32)/9_

_Rearrange the formula to make 'F' the subject._

_Oh my God I have no idea._

"Well… I think…"  
>"Take us through your steps."<p>

"Uh, first I…" I stumbled.

"Multiply both sides by 9…" I heard a soft male voice say.

"Multiply both sides by 9!" I repeated.

"Carry on…"  
>"Then, I um…"<br>"Divide both sides by 5…"  
>"Divide both sides by 5!"<br>"Then finally…" the voice continued. "Add 32 to both sides."  
>"Then finally, we add 32 to both sides," I finished. "Then F is the subject."<br>"Wow, you're pretty good at maths!" Iruka said, happily. Shiko snorted.

"Yeah she's like Albert frickin' Einstein…"

"Was that you giving me the answers?" I whispered to Shikamaru.  
>"No, it was Albert frickin' Einstein."<p>

"Hey, Kotomi-san!" said Hinata, after Maths was finally over. "You were really good with that equation! To be honest, I didn't know what to do! Can you help me in self-study later?"  
>"Actually… Hinata… I…"<br>"Find it hard to explain," Shikamaru finished my sentence. "She finds it hard to explain."

At break, we made our way outside to meet everyone. Hinata introduced me to the group.

"I'm Ino and THAT is Sakura," a blonde girl with hair like my sister's, and a cheerleader outfit introduced herself. All the boys looked at her for a second, and then looked away. She indicated a shorter, slightly stockier girl in an identical red and white outfit, with shocking pink hair.

"Is that natural?" I asked.

"No, it's dyed," Ino laughed. "She did it by accident and few years ago and ended up liking it."

"Well nice to meet you…"  
>"And you too!" she said, smiling, and walked away to go and annoy Shikamaru.<p>

"Hey Tomi-chan! This is Kiba, and this is Shino!" Shiko said, bouncing over excitedly. She was blushing. One tall lean guy in a white T-shirt and a pair of blue jeans looked me up and down.

"Hey!" the one I'm guessing was Kiba said happily. The other guy, overdressed, regarded me and my sister with no more than a grunt.

"Come on, Choji, let's run!"

"Leave me alone! I don't want to run!" said the Choji guy, picking a bag of potato chips out of his pocket and going to stand by Shikamaru. The runner was wearing a green pair of leggings, sports shoes, and a green vest.

"Ten laps! C'mon! I'll go easy on you!"  
>"GO AWAY, LEE! I DON'T WANT TO RUN!"<p>

Shiko and I stood, and we blinked, and we wondered.

"That's Choji. Resident fat-ass," Ino let out a shrill laugh. "Love you really… kind of."  
>"And the other one, that's Rock Lee. I'm Ten-Ten by the way," introduced a girl in fine-cut black trousers and a sleeveless pink silk top (Chinese-style). "And that's Neji over there…" she indicated a guy with long hair talking to Hinata.<p>

"He and Hinata look kind of alike."  
>"They're cousins. Strong family resemblance, huh?"<br>"I'll say," I agreed. "So, you, Rock Lee, Neji, Choji, Kiba, Ino, Sakura, Hinata, Naruto, Shino and Shikamaru. I remember."  
>"I'd say you've met everyone. I hear them talking. Gonna be real interesting."<p> 


	4. Working Girls

_NARUTO—__ナルト__—_ _and it's characters - Masashi Kishimoto  
>Kotomi Tanaka, Shiko Tanaka and ''Konoha High, Meet the Tanaka Girls'' plot - ohdearheart<em>

**Konoha High ; Meet The Tanaka Girls  
><strong>_~ A Naruto AU Fanfiction ~__**  
>Written and Devised by ohdearheart.<strong>_

_.Chapter 3 – Working Girls._

* * *

><p>"And then basically me and Deidara-kun went back up to the classroom after lunch, and he sat just a little bit closer to me than he did at the start of the day. AND IT WAS AWESOME," Shiko said happily, as we walked through the streets of Konoha. "How about you, dear pumpkin of a sister of mine? Got your sights set on anyone?"<br>"We've only been there a day…"

"Day shmay," Shiko scoffed. "It only takes two seconds to see that someone is HOT. How about you and that Shikamaru guy? Seems nice enough. And he's not that bad-looking… I suppose… Okay, it's all about personality! He's smart."  
>"No," I laughed. "He seems really pissed I'm sat there actually."<br>"Eh, he's just in denial over his feelings."  
>"Yeah, of course," I chuckled at her, batting her over the head playfully. "That's true. And I'm a man."<p>

"Honey, why didn't you tell me sooner?" she said, acting shocked.

"Okay, okay, now on to the serious stuff. We have to get jobs."  
>"Jobs?"<br>"I had to lend our books for today because there is no way that we can afford them and we need to pay last month's and this month's rent. There's no way we can do it without getting jobs. So where do you want to work?"  
>"Work?"<p>

"Yup, work. I've already got myself a job. Now where are you going to go?"  
>"Somewhere with food."<br>"Food?" said a voice from behind us. "I heard food. Are you guys going to eat?"  
>"Choji?" Shiko said, confused.<br>"No, it's Naruto," he said, walking up to us. "You guys are going to eat? Want to join me?"  
>"Nope, we're looking for jobs," I said firmly. "I have one. Do you know anywhere with food that is hiring."<br>"You could always make me ramen," Naruto winked. "I'm joking, but I do actually hear that Teuchi is hiring."  
>"Teuchi?"<br>"He's the owner of the ramen shop," he explained. "Come with me," he grabbed Shiko's hand and practically dragged her along to wherever he was going. She followed helplessly.

Five minutes later, after taking the sketchy hand-drawn map and finally finding the shop, I walked in. "Hey Ino," I greeted the blonde standing the counter.  
>"Hey!" she smiled. "Okay, you man the counter. It's pretty self-explanatory to use, and I'm guessing you can answer any questions that the customers have, right? That's why you're here. I'm going to go and help my mom with a delivery. I'll see you in a little while."<p>

"Sure thing," I said, taking a seat on the little stool behind the counter. Time seemed to tick so slowly, it was like the clock had stopped altogether. People came in, dawdled around, bought a couple roses for their lovers or carnations for their mothers, asked stupid questions about whether their flowers could survive in this room or that room or outside or on the roof, or under the tiny little cupboard under the bathroom sink…

"Um, hello, can you help me with something? I need to identify this flower," said a deep male voice. I turned around from counting the money.

"Yeah, that's no problem, just let me take a look- Sh-Shikamaru?"  
>"Kotomi?"<br>"Um, why are you here?"  
>"I need to identify this flower. Do you know when Ino or her mother will be back?"<br>"They're out back, but they're busy with a delivery at the moment. Do you want me to look at it?"  
>"Thanks, but I think you proved your intelligence, or lack of it, in math this morning. I'll just wait for Ino or her mom," Shikamaru sat down on one of the stools in front of the counter.<p>

"Are you actually going to sit here and wait?" I asked him.  
>"Yes," he said, smirking. "Why?"<br>"Kind of retarded," I sniffed. "You could just let me see it."  
>"KOTOMI!" Ino yelled. "WE HAVE TO ACTUALLY MAKE A DELIVERY NOW! WE'LL BE BACK IN AN HOUR OR SO! LOOK AFTER THE SHOP!"<br>"OKAY!"

"Guess I'll be waiting for a while," Shikamaru said, yawning. "Mind if I sleep?"

"Are you kidding me?" I asked, but he was already asleep. The time ticked on, second by second, minute by minute, until over forty-five minutes had passed. I lost patience quicker than people lost food when Choji was around. "Uh, Shikamaru?"  
>"Ughhgh… What?" he groaned, rubbing his eyes kind of adorably after waking up.<br>"Let me see the flower."

"What?"  
>"LET ME SEE THE DAMN FLOWER BEFORE I GRAB IT OFF YOU."<p>

"Uh, okay…" he rummaged in his bag.

"Why do you have a random flower anyway?"  
>"Jiraiya gave it to me as homework," he said, pulling out a white flower with large, rounded petals and a soft splash of vibrant yellow in the middle.<p>

"Oh my, that's a Plumeria. How did you get one of those? They're native to tropics, hot places, Brazil, Mexico, Central America, you catch my drift. It would usually be too cold to cultivate one of those here, but I wonder how Jiraiya did it. Be careful with that, if you get the sap on your hands or in your eyes it can really irritate them. Let me see?" I asked. He dumbly handed the pretty flower over.

"This is one of my favourite flowers," I breathed softly.  
>"Why?"<br>"Because it's very beautiful. And my mother used to say it was just like me."

"Pretty but irritating… Hahahaha!"  
>"No," I said gently but firmly. "Because people always used to pry to far into it, used to go straight for the middle without even understanding it, then the sap would irritate them, and they'd cast it off as nothing. Without even taking a moment to appreciate the beauty it might have."<p>

"Well, number one, can I have the flower back? I have Biology tomorrow, and number 2, don't worry."  
>"Don't worry about what?"<br>"I appreciate your…"  
>"KOTOMI! WE'RE BACK!"<br>"God damn it Ino!" snapped Shikamaru.

"One Tokyo-style, Teuchi!" I yelled back to the chef.  
>"Where have you been all my life, Shiko? If only my daughter was this good in the restaurant…"<br>"No problems," I giggled. I was already enjoying my work, and I had been spending most of the afternoon for the three hours that I had been working talking to Naruto.

It was dark now, and he was still here, spending God-knows how much money on bowl after bowl of ramen and keeping me in cheerful company.

"Hey!" he said.

"Uh, hey Naruto, I've been talking to you for a while now…" I said.

"Not you… Kiba! Hey Kiba!"

"Hey Naruto! Thought that you would be here!"  
>"Why are you here? You don't even really like ramen…"<br>"You sound offended."  
>"Just wondering is all…"<br>"Sometimes Teuchi lets me have the gristle from the meat," Kiba grinned.

"You like eating gristle?" I said, kind of grossed out.  
>"He's like a dog," Naruto laughed. "Talking of dogs, hi Akamaru!"<br>"Who's Aka- aawwwwww!" I said, as a cute little white dog with a couple brown patches leapt up fearlessly onto the counter. "You're so cute, boy! Would you like some jerky?" I pulled a packet from my pocket and fed him a piece. "But Teuchi will not like it if you are on the counter, so get down, boy!"

"That's Akamaru," Kiba said. "Have you got any of that jerky left?"  
>"Cheapskate," snorted Naruto.<br>"Hey, I love jerky okay! It's like you asking about ramen!"  
>"Don't you joke about ramen!"<br>"It's just noodles in a bowl full of warm salty liquid!"  
>"You're full of warm salty liquid!" yelled Naruto. The old lady at the other end of the bar quietly eating almost choked on her soup.<p>

"Great, Naruto, now your crappy comebacks are causing danger to the elderly diners," I whispered angrily.  
>"I'm outta here!" he said, grabbing his hoodie and walking off into the darkness. Kiba took a seat in front of me and let out a small laugh before stopping.<br>"I shouldn't laugh."  
>"Heh. Is there anything I can get you?"<br>"Um, how about asking Teuchi about that gristle?"  
>"Uh, Teuchi?"<br>"YES?"  
>"HAVE WE GOT ANY LEFT OVER GRISTLE?"<br>"YEAH, IN A POT BY THE COOKER. WHY?"  
>"KIBA INUZUKA SAYS HE LIKES IT!"<br>"GIVE THE MUTT THE WHOLE POT! LESS TO THROW AWAY!"

Teuchi emerged for a second with a brown pot full of vile gristle before returning to the kitchen. Kiba started picking at it, it crunching between his teeth. The mere sound of it made a shiver run down my spine with disgust. How was it that someone could come to one of the best ramen bars in town and sit there eating parts which often even animals refused? It was confusing even to me.

"Are you sure you don't want a bowl of ramen?"  
>"No, I'm good. So how was your first day?"<br>"Tiring. And fun, but tiring. I've been up since seven and I haven't even gone home yet," I sighed. "The cost of life, eh?"  
>"Why not?"<br>"Well we had school and then I came here and I started working since around four because that's when Teuchi gave me the job. It's okay though, because I leave here at about eight."  
>"That's only forty-five minutes. Three quarters of an hour will whizz by. Want me to stay and keep you company?"<br>"Sure, that would be good."

As the night drifted on, the last customers apart from Kiba started leaving the ramen bar, with Teuchi resigning himself to the kitchen. We sat and chatted randomly until it was time for me to leave, when he insisted on walking me home.

"So you go to school and then you work and you don't get home until eight-thirty?"  
>"Pretty much."<p>

"If you ever need a place to chill out, you could always come around mine," Kiba offered.  
>"Thanks for the offer and everything but that kind of sounds quite a bit dodgy, so I think I'll pass. I like to spend lots of time with my sister anyway."<br>"Oh no," he let out a nervous laugh. "I didn't mean it like that," followed by a blush that was so bright I could see it even in the darkness.

"I know, I know, I was just saying…"  
>"But the offer is still open. Even though Shikamaru and Choji or Naruto are usually there, because we have a pool table, you and your sister are always welcome."<br>"A pool table, huh? I invite you to get your ass kicked in a game of pool against me."  
>"It would be a shame to lose to such a gorgeous girl."<br>"Well then what a sha- I mean, what? Uh, um. Well then what a shame," I said, clearing my throat. It was obvious that he had thrown a little of my composure, but I wasn't going to let that get me. I was too cool for that.  
>"Oh, we'll just have to see. Whenever you're free, Tanaka-san. Maybe when you drop that tough girl act," he laughed. I coughed. Damn it.<p> 


	5. The Plan

_NARUTO—__ナルト__—_ _and it's characters - Masashi Kishimoto  
>Kotomi Tanaka, Shiko Tanaka and ''Konoha High, Meet the Tanaka Girls'' plot - ohdearheart<em>

**Konoha High ; Meet The Tanaka Girls  
><strong>_~ A Naruto AU Fanfiction ~__**  
>Written and Devised by ohdearheart.<strong>_

_.Chapter 4 - The Plan._

* * *

><p>"Jesus, Kotomi, would you look at all this cash?" Shiko grinned, opening her wallet and fluttering a couple of the notes in her wallet. "Teuchi advanced paid me for a whole week! I've got 6,000 yen baby!"<br>"Well, that's smooth, because I don't get paid until the end of the week and you're going to have to give up 4,000 of it for our books," I laughed.

"What?" she pouted, protectively. "My money."  
>"Our money," I corrected. "Go on, go pay Anko," I nudged her, as we walked into school for the second day of the week. She went off happily, grabbed Deidara from his corner and went to go and pay Anko for our books. I went to go and see Ino.<p>

"Hey punk, you're in my way!" Deidara yelled as we walked down the corridor.

"W-What?" I said, looking around.

"Well, I'm real sorry, Mr. Tough Guy…" said a familiar boy.

"Jeez, Inuzuka, are you looking to get your face re-arranged?" said Deidara venomously.  
>"I-Inuzuka?"<p>

"Well, I'm really sorry, Mr. Tough Guy…" Kiba repeated. "Hey Shiko. Cheers for keeping me company last night."  
>"You're welcome. Thank you for walking me home. Are we playing pool later tonight?" I grinned.<p>

"Sure, just come over to mine anytime. Shika's gonna be there as well, by the way. Did you want to bring your sister?"  
>"Sounds like a plan! I'll bring her over when we're done working!"<p>

"I didn't know you were both there last night…"  
>"Oh no. She works in the flower shop – she's all nerdy about that kind of thing. It's better pay, but I get free meals."<br>"Um, guys, can we quit with the pretty little chit-chat? Shiko and I have places to be…" Deidara interrupted.

"Anko's shop? Yeah, we're living the high life," I snorted.

"Fine, be like that…" Deidara said walking away.

"Crap."

"Deidara-kun!"  
>"Sakura."<br>"Why do you look so mad?"  
>"Sakura, leave him alone," Ino interrupted.<br>"It doesn't matter," Deidara replied slowly.

I was in the midst of this.

"Wait, I thought you were going to go and see Anko with my sister?"  
>"Well I was and then…"<br>Cue the bell ringing.

"Well, come on, math buddy! We have Iruka again! You can show off those algebra skills," said Shikamaru. "Bwahaha. I can't even keep a straight face."

"Shut up," I said snarkily. "I'm not that dumb."  
>"Yup, and Ino's not that hot either."<p>

"Depends on your opinion really."  
>"Knowing Shika's, he's implying that you're really quite dumb…" Choji said.<p>

"Oh, let's just go," I said, furrowing my eyebrows. "I'm going to prove you wrong, I swear!"

"Kotomi? Can you solve this equation? That's a silly question," Iruka laughed, rubbing his neck. "We all know you could."  
>"Uh… um…"<br>"And seeing as we know that, why don't we go to Shikamaru?"  
>"Add 49 to both sides, square root them, and then you have successfully made X the subject," Shikamaru said.<p>

"Dude, what are you, some kind of frickin' child prodigy?" I whispered.  
>"I prefer the term difficulty-challenged," he said, smirking.<br>"So that's how you knew the answers yesterday…"  
>"It wasn't exactly hard. You should study more."<br>"Hey, I don't have much time, y'know."  
>"Maybe instead of coming to Kiba's tonight, you should stay home and study."<br>"I'm doing what?"  
>"Kiba texted me saying Shiko agreed to come over to his and bring you, and play some pool with me and him."<br>"That girl! This is the first I've heard of it…"  
>"Maybe it's a bad idea."<br>"What are you, scared?"  
>"Scared of what?"<br>"Getting your ass kicked in pool. I didn't take Shikamaru to be the kind of person that doesn't like a challenge," I stuck my tongue out at him.

"You know what? Forget study. Bring it on. I'll see you at his at half-eight, and don't be late or we'll take it as a forfeit."  
>"You're on."<p>

"Excuse me, you two, if you would please stop whispering. It's kind of distracting," Iruka said. "Page 92, do questions A and B. We work in silence here."  
>"He's bluffing," said Shikamaru. "He probably thinks you're some kind of inspector in disguise. Still, now we have to work in silence, troublesome woman."<br>"What did you just call me?"  
>"Troublesome. Troublesome woman."<p>

"What went on this morning, Shiko?"  
>"What do you mean?"<br>"You said, 'Good morning, Deidara-kun. Can you come with me to Anko's?' so I go with you, and five minutes later you ditch me for that asshole."  
>"Kiba's an asshole? Really? 'Cause I like him. And I didn't ditch you. I just engaged in polite conversation. Jesus Christ."<p>

"Yeah, yeah. So what, have you and the mutt got something going on now?"  
>"I've been here two days, Deidara."<br>"Doesn't take long. That's like two weeks in dog time."  
>"Leave him alone. Why does everyone call him a dog anyway?"<br>"You have a lot to learn, Shiko-chan," Deidara let out a deep laugh. "And I'm not going to be the one to teach you. If you really think he's all that awesome, you can find out yourself."

"You know what? Maybe I will! I'm going round to his after school with Kotomi anyway!" I whispered angrily.

"Oh are you now? Well… wait, what?"  
>"I'm going round to his, with Kotomi, to play pool with him and Shikamaru."<br>"He'll probably spike your drink," Deidara chuckled.  
>"God, Dei, shut the hell up already."<p>

At break, I made my way (after copying off of Shikamaru for the whole of the lesson), to the bench where everyone was hanging out, in a corner of the sunny school field. Everyone was gathered around chatting, and I went to go and find Shiko, who was gossiping with Ino.

"Well, basically, the deal with him is…"  
>"Woah, guys, what are you talking about?" I interrupted Ino. "Did I miss much? I wanna listen."<p>

"I just asked Ino what was the deal between Kiba and Deidara."  
>"Oh yeah, that thing in the corridor."<br>"And he's getting all funny about us going round his after school."  
>"You forgot to tell me about that."<br>"Oops."

"And I was saying," Ino continued, "that Kiba and Deidara have hated each other for about two years now."  
>"Since they were fourteen?"<br>"Exactly."

"Why?"

"It's all Ino's fault, basically," said Shikamaru, joining in with the conversation. Shiko almost jumped a mile.  
>"Since when were you listening in, pineapple head? This isn't any of your business. Now you better leave, before I take that ponytail and I shove it…"<br>"What Shiko means," I interrupted, "is you shouldn't have been eavesdropping."

"He's right, though," said Ino. "It is kind of my fault."  
>"Why?" I asked.<p>

"Well, when we were fourteen…"  
>"What did I tell you, Shikamaru!" Shiko yelled. "Seriously, you test my patience…"<br>"Shiko, shut up."  
>"W-what? For that spiky-haired freak?"<br>"Seriously, Shiko. Don't you wanna hear?"

"Oh yeah! Tell me, Shikamaru, tell me, tell me!"  
>"When we were fourteen, Deidara liked Ino."<br>"Deidara did WHAT?"  
>"Deidara liked Ino. He was different then. Clean-cut. Short hair, played for the soccer team, wore actual colour."<br>"What does this have to do with anything?" Shiko asked.

"Deidara liked Ino. He thought Ino liked him back and then woah! From under his nose, Kiba came along. Him and Ino dated for a few months before splitting, but Deidara still hasn't forgiven him. He grew his hair, turned all… ugh. And now all he does is set fire to stuff and draw."  
>"Kinda like Shiko…"<br>"Kinda like ME!" said Shiko excitedly.

"So that explains it. They haven't really talked since."  
>"Trust you to set up another rivalry with your flirting, SHIKO!" I turned around to hear.<p>

"For such a small, troublesome woman, you have such a loud, troublesome voice…"

"Shut up, Shika."  
>"Oooh, they're on nickname basis!" Ino giggled to Sakura.<p>

"Not exactly. It's just every syllable of Shikamaru's name makes me feel sicker. Shika…" I said as I fake-urged. "Shikama… Shikama…" I almost 'threw up'. "Can't do it, sorry guys."

"Kotomi?" said Shikamaru.

"I think you mean kirei (_a Japanese word for pretty_)," Shiko laughed.

"No," Shikamaru cleared his throat, a small pink flush spreading to his cheeks. "I mean Kotomi."  
>"Same difference."<p>

Japanese and Japanese history went about as slow as me in the mornings, or as slow as Kotomi's brain. Deidara wasn't talking to me, no matter how much I tried, so I ended up passing him a note.

_Will you stop being a little bitch about this?x_

**About what, you and that little kid? He's just a player.**

_I know about Ino._

**What about her? **

_I know you used to like her. I know what happened._

**Great. 03-4873-8271. Text me later and I'll talk to you then. Don't think about not replying whilst playing games with the pretty boy.**

He let me see the phone number for a moment, but once I entered it into my phone, he scrunched up the paper and threw it swiftly into the bin, and didn't talk to me for the rest of the lesson.

* * *

><p>"Are you guys ready?" Kiba said, rubbing chalk on the end of his cue.<p>

"Bring it," said Shiko, squaring herself up. "The Tanaka sisters don't ever lose, not at this, not at anything."  
>"Well, there's a first time for everything."<br>As they made fighting remarks at each other, Shikamaru talked softly.

"So, you cleaned up."  
>"Excuse me?"<br>"You're not wearing a pair of track pants, and a tank top, or that apron thing you have to wear at the Yamanaka shop."  
>"Powers of observation… yours astound me."<br>"I like it."  
>"Good for you."<br>"You don't always have to be so snappy, y'know."  
>"You don't always have to be so patronizing."<br>"So you guys are cool with the bet, yeah?" Shiko said excitedly, rubbing her hands together evilly.  
>"What, huh?" I spluttered. Shiko rolled her eyes at me.<p>

"The bet is…"

"I am going to play Shiko," Kiba said. "And if I win, Shikamaru has to take you to the fireworks festival. If she wins, Deidara is taking her to the fireworks festival."  
>"Okay… wait, what?" I said. "Me and Shikamaru?"<br>"Shut up and listen," said Shiko sharply. "Then you and Shikamaru will play, and if you win, I go with Kiba to the festival. If Shikamaru wins, you can go to the fireworks festival with whoever… me and Kiba set you up with."  
>"So it goes a little like this," I worked it out…<p>

_Kiba and Kotomi win – Kiba & Shiko, Shikamaru & Kotomi_

_Kiba and Shikamaru win – Kotomi & Shikamaru AND Mystery Guy?_

_Shiko and Kotomi win – Deidara AND Kiba & Shiko_

_Shiko and Shikamaru win – Deidara & Shiko, Kotomi & Mystery Guy_

"Shiko, I'm counting on you! You better win!" I said to her.

"That's the point. Well I'm counting on you Kotomi!" said Kiba.

"Who do I count on?" said Shikamaru.  
>"Depends on what your intentions are."<br>"They've thought this out," I laughed to myself.

"I'll just count on myself then," he said.  
>"Loner," snorted Kiba.<p>

"I either depend on myself or you, Kotomi," said Shiko. "Second chances for all!"

"Damn it Kotomi, you better win this!" said Kiba, as me and Shikamaru squared up to the pool table.

"If her pool skills are anything like mine…" said Shiko, laughing to herself.

"Shut up!"  
>"Oh, is Kiba a poor loser? Oh dear… Why is it that Kotomi should win this match anyway?"<br>"Because then we'd- because then…" Kiba stuttered whilst Shiko looked at him questioningly.  
>"You make me laugh."<p>

"Great…" he groaned.

I turned around for one second, I turn back and he's potted it!  
>"Hey, hey, that was a dirty shot!" cried Kiba.<p>

"I'll show you a dirty shot in a minute. No, wait, I mean, that was a perfect shot!" replied Shikamaru.

"Say what you want, he still won," said Shiko, disappointed that she was missing the chance to have a three-way date.

"No, he cheated!" I said.  
>"Sh, I suppose it's sort of in the rules," said Kiba, shrugging.<br>"Fine. Mystery guy, here I come!"  
>"Woo!" high-fived Kiba and Shiko.<p>

"Why are you so happy?" I frowned at Kiba.

"We'll have him meet you there," he said, and then they both burst out laughing.

Shikamaru and I glanced at each other at the same time. They had a plan.


End file.
